I Am A Social Recluse
I have no problem with being alone; in fact, I tend to enjoy it. That said, I am married to a wonderful woman, a woman who loves social interaction.
She often stays at our home with me and our two dogs for several days at a time. By the way we live on a dirt road surrounded by woods, and our closest neighbor is a mile away.
I support my wife's need for social interaction by going with her to meetings or the like. I have no problem talking with people (small groups please); I simply prefer the semi-solitude of our home.
In college, I often would return to my apartment (I never lived in a dorm) after class on Friday and not leave until I needed to for classes on Monday. My only companion then was my cat - long since deceased. One year I couldn't make it to my parent's home for Thanksgiving and was in my apartment from Wednesday until Monday.
People would often ask me whether I would get lonely, but I would explain there is a big difference between being lonely and being lonely.
Due to my hermitic tendencies, I went on my first date at age 26. We were together for 14 years, and, after a reclusive hiatus for 4 years, I got married again - the Winter Solstice will mark our 19th anniversary. Between my third and fourth year of college, I hiked just over a third of the Appalachian Trail by myself. I would occasionally encounter someone hiking the other direction (I was going the atypical north to south), and a couple times I went a week or more without seeing anyone else.
In short, viva la solitude!
Quakertrucker
She often stays at our home with me and our two dogs for several days at a time. By the way we live on a dirt road surrounded by woods, and our closest neighbor is a mile away.
I support my wife's need for social interaction by going with her to meetings or the like. I have no problem talking with people (small groups please); I simply prefer the semi-solitude of our home.
In college, I often would return to my apartment (I never lived in a dorm) after class on Friday and not leave until I needed to for classes on Monday. My only companion then was my cat - long since deceased. One year I couldn't make it to my parent's home for Thanksgiving and was in my apartment from Wednesday until Monday.
People would often ask me whether I would get lonely, but I would explain there is a big difference between being lonely and being lonely.
Due to my hermitic tendencies, I went on my first date at age 26. We were together for 14 years, and, after a reclusive hiatus for 4 years, I got married again - the Winter Solstice will mark our 19th anniversary. Between my third and fourth year of college, I hiked just over a third of the Appalachian Trail by myself. I would occasionally encounter someone hiking the other direction (I was going the atypical north to south), and a couple times I went a week or more without seeing anyone else.
In short, viva la solitude!
Quakertrucker
70-79, M
